


A Prayer of Oak and Cedar

by Of_Lights_and_Shadows



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU, Akashi and Kuroko are twins, Dalish!Midorima, Dirthamen!Akashi, Dragon Age AU, Elf!Takao, Established Relationship, Falon'Din!Kuroko, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:25:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6070393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Lights_and_Shadows/pseuds/Of_Lights_and_Shadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kazunari witnesses a funeral for the same time ever since he joined Shintarou's clan in the forest. It awakens new curiocity to their customs. Even though, both of them, are of the same race, most wouldn't call them kin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Prayer of Oak and Cedar

**Author's Note:**

> Things happen when I get in contact with a 'new' universes. Dragon Age is nice to play, and I admit my sin: I love the Dalish (elves who live in the forests, basically), even though they tend to be too prideful sometimes.
> 
> Suggestion: A good listen while reading this could be Leliana's Song from Dragon Age: Origins.

 

 

Kazunari (he has thrown away his family name _Takao_ now that he lives in the forest), watches from a distance. It feels somewhat wrong to him to get more involved in that moment, when he's still not completely accepted as one of the clan.

The Dalish treat their dead with outmost respect, something that, of course, happened back in the city he grew up with. But the ritual they followed, was entirely different. He watches as Shin-chan and his younger sister (a sweet little thing by the name of Mirai) make their offerings to their father; an oaken staff and a cedar branch.

 

 

"It's for his protection." Mirai explains later on. Unlike her brother, Mirai was extremely observative of others.

"Protection?" he wonders out loud. "From what?"

She gives him a sad smile. "Come. I'll have Shin-chan tell you. He's better at storytelling than I am."

 

 

Shintarou sighs when Mirai starts pestering him. "I will, fine. It'll be good for you to not forget your origins, Mirai."

He takes a deep breath, before starting. "This is the story of two brothers, who only once in their lives were seperated; yet that separation brought them pain. The tale of the _Guide_ and the _Keeper._ "

 

 

_Ever since their birth, Seijuro and Tetsuya were inseperable. Seijuro, with hair in a shade of the warm, scarlet flames, and Tetsuya, with eyes the colour of calm, clear skies. One day, while wandering the forest, they spotted a wounded deer. Young as they were then, the concept of death was not a familiar one._

_"Play with us."  Seijuro suggested._

_"I apologise, but I cannot." the deer politely declined. "I am old, you see, and though I wish to go to my rest, my feet can no longer carry me there."_

_"I can take you to my arms and lead you there." Tetsuya suggested, taking pity on her. And so, without waiting for the dying deer's reply, he did as he said._

_Seijuro went to follow, however, he met with a great obstacle. Unlike his brother, he wasn't as used to navigate the_ Veil  _that separates the world of the living from the world of gods and spirits, and soon found himself lost._

_He continued wandering aimlessly, until the time that he came across two ravens. The ravens laughed at him mockingly, their forms being swifted to twisted versions of himself and his brother._

_"You are lost. And soon, you'll fade away." the one that took the image of his brother_ -Fear-  _started._

 _"Your brother has abandoned you already. He doesn't love you anymore. Perhaps, never did. Or maybe he grew tired of your presence." the one who mimiced his own appearance_ -Deceit-  _laughed._

_"I have not been abandoned, or forgotten, or become unloved." he replied with conviction in his words. He managed to subjugate both and, when he ordered them to be taken to his brother, they obliged; for they were defeated and were now bound to his service._

 

_The two brothers had a heartwarming reunion, finding themselves in each other's arms with a smile._

_Tetsuya pointed at the deer's spirit. "I feel this is my call, brother. I wish to remain here, and guide all souls to their destined place, after their passing."_

_"I shall stay with you, then." Seijuro proclaimed. "I cannot be separated from you again."_

 

 

"In the time where our elders could enter _Uthenera_ -the long sleep- they were given the chance to consult Seijuro and, the Keeper of Secrets could bestow them with great wisdom and knowledge for them to share with their people when they returned. Alas, after time, Tetsuya, the Guide, was to lead them to death instead of the long sleep, and the knowledge that the Keeper had blessed them with could not be passed down to the younger."

"Thet say ancient elves didn't die." Mirai mutters, only for Kazu-chan, as she started callin him, to hear. "And they'd sleep for years, some wouldn't wake. That's what _Uthenera_ is. Sort of like a journey towards enlightment. Weird, right?"

He didn't comment on how outrageous a story it seemed to his ears. He wanted to hear more.

"When our gods where banished, no one was there to guide the dead. Many were lost in the abyss that is the Veil. The oaken staff keeps them from faltering along the paths of the Veil without Tetsuya to guide them. With the cedar branch, they scatter Seijuro's ravens, that are now without a master, and can turn them into their victims."

 

He remains silent for a bit.

"May I write those down?" he whispers, not wanting to insult anyone that might hear them. "Sometimes, things are lost with speech. These, they need to be kept alive."

Shintarou nods. "I think so, too."

**Author's Note:**

> And a little fun fact: In the older elven stories, Falon'Din was referred to as ''Dirthamen's Shadow'' and Dirthamen as ''Falon'Din's Reflection'', making them ''Seijuro's Shadow'' and ''Tetsuya's Reflection'' in this one.


End file.
